JK Lakshmi Cement flagged off Blue Energy MotorsLNG Trucks at their plant in JK Puram, Sirohi.

India’s first Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) fueledgreen trucks by Blue Energy Motors, have begun commercial operations for JKLakshmi Cement, one of India’s leading cement companies. In a flag off ceremony,held at JK Lakshmi Cement’s Sirohi plant in Rajasthan, the first fleet of LNGtrucks left for their clinker grinding unit at Surat. With this, JK LakshmiCement becomes the first cement company to deploy LNG trucks for long haultransportation of raw materials in the country.

Speaking on this occasion, Anirudh Bhuwalka,Chief Executive Officer, Blue Energy Motors commented ‘’Sustainability should notbe a choice anymore, but a compulsory way of life. Our trucks have beendesigned and conceptualized keeping in mind the Indian conditions and climaterequirements.”

Arun Shukla, President and Director, JK LakshmiCement Limited, said, “Deploying LNG trucks of Blue Energy Motors is our firststep towards sustainable transportation as LNG is an excellent greenalternative for fossil fuel. This initiative will act as a game-changer for thecountry’s cement transportation industry and help facilitate the eventualtransition towards a more circular economy.”

The market entry of Blue Energy Motor’s LNG-fueledtrucks started with the introduction of BE5528 tractor as the first model. The trucks have been designed to deliver best in class TCOwith unmatched reliability and next generation telematics system for safe andcomfortable long-haul drives.

BE5528 uses FPT Industrial multipoint stoichiometriccombustion engine to ensure best-in-class fuel consumption and lower noise thandiesel engines. With 280hp power and 1000Nm torque, it is one of the mostpowerful natural gas trucks on the Indian market.

The BE5528 truck has the industry’s first 990-ltfuel tank which provides the range of up to 1,400 km in a single fill. Giventhis long range, issues pertaining to range anxiety are well taken care of, andwith the upcoming LNG dispensing network, sufficient coverage across key routesin the country will be available without need of frequent refilling.

The company has installed capacity to produce10,000 trucks/annum, which can be augmented further as the eco system maturesand demand ramps up. It launched the first manufacturing plant at Chakan, Punein September this year.